Sunday, May 2
Almighty God, whom truly to know is everlasting life: Grant us so perfectly to know your Son Jesus Christ to be the way, the truth, and the life, that we may steadfastly follow his steps in the way that leads to eternal life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Sunday, May 2 is the Fifth Sunday of Easter. Find the readings here.
Dear Friends in Christ,
This week’s worship video is now available:
Morning Prayer, Rite II
Well, it's been a week. Sorry I didn't have the bandwidth to make a Rite I version of our video this time, but I hope you understand. I'm only just now getting over the bug I picked up on vacation, and my airline still has my bag despite repeated phone calls and promises — but overall, I feel grateful and hopeful because I've gotten to have some wonderful conversations with some of you.
There are many tasks required to make this a smooth transition, but by far the best is reconnecting with parishioners, reflecting on the graces of our time together, and hearing about what's important to you. I hope that more of you will reach out and set up a time to talk, either in person or online. And speaking of which, please join us for coffee hour at noon:
• To join on a computer, tablet, or smartphone with the Zoom app installed, click here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86398096400?pwd=dk5oTjNkYzNIOVl4TEExcCtiZEw2dz09
• To call in on a smartphone, tap here: +16465588656,,86398096400#,,,,,,0#,,296917#
• To call in on a conventional phone, call (646) 558-8656 then enter the Meeting ID: 863 9809 6400 and the Passcode: 296917
Here are Mark's music notes:
Our opening hymn #209 “We walk by faith and not by sight” is full of Easter imagery, especially of the story of Thomas which we heard 3 weeks ago. For many of us Thomas is a brother we recognize in ourselves and these themes are great reminders of the faith we have and share. The tune is “St. Botolph.” Our fair city “Boston” is named for Boston in Lincolnshire, England which contains a very large and famous church: St. Botolph. The name Boston is a contraction: St. Botolph’s Town! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston,_Lincolnshire
Our final hymn, “Christ is arisen, Alleluia” was written by Bernard Kyamanywa (b. 1938), while in the Lutheran Seminary in Tanzania with words in Swahili. Originally inspired by the call and response style, one can imagine a soloist singing each of the phrases with the whole congregation singing the Alleluias and then joining in the refrain. Missionary and teacher Howard S. Olson collected and translated this among many others and thus they made their way into the English speaking Christian churches.
I’m freely chanting the Psalm with a drone on the Shruti Box; you might join in humming, or even singing the words on that same note!
Our archive music is David Oliver singing the lovely George Herbert text, “Come, my way, my truth, my life.” This melody and words are also in the Hymnal 1982 at 487. You can sing along, except the 2nd verse which Vaughan Williams sails off in a riff on his original melody. These words relate to the Gospel in parallel ways.
The voluntaries are settings of Hymn 192, “This Joyful Eastertide,” a Dutch Seventeenth Century folk melody that was “baptised” when it appeared in a Metrical Psalmbook in 1685. It is characterized by unusual “melismas” (a single syllable sung to more than one, in this case 6-9 notes) at the end of phrases.
The opening voluntary is played on the Viole de Gambe and Celeste, two sets of nearly identical “keen sounding” pipes in which one set is tuned slightly sharp to make an undulating effect. The second charming setting is reminiscent of music for fife and drum.
Thank you for the many kind comments about last week’s service! Thanks also to the many singers who’ve participated in singing hymns and anthems over this past year. We’re likely to continue this and use the audio track when in the church as our space is small and we won’t be able to sing for a time.